Twitter partners with Square Inc to add campaign donation buttons

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Tuesday it has partnered with mobile payments company Square Inc to enable anyone in the United States to make an online donation to a political candidate through a tweet.

Candidates can now register with Square to enable links they can tweet to request donations from supporters, Twitter said in a blog post. Users can then donate by clicking on a "contribute" button on the candidate's tweet and entering their debit card information.

Republican and Democratic candidates are competing for party nominations to run in the November 2016 presidential election. Republican candidates were scheduled to appear on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, in the second prime-time debate.

The first Democratic debate is scheduled for Las Vegas, Nevada, on Oct. 13

The first Republican debate, broadcast on Fox News Channel in early August, drew 24 million viewers, more than double the prior record for a presidential primary debate and the most for a non-sports telecast in cable TV history.

Twitter co-founder and interim Chief Executive Jack Dorsey also serves as Square's chief executive officer. Bloomberg reported last week that Square may file for an initial public offering by the fourth quarter of this year.